Page 20: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2026)

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MARKETS EXPLORATION © alexmu / Adobe Stock

OIL MAJORS RELOAD

EXPLORATION HOPPERS

ACROSS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Faced with declining production post-2030, across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Majors have started the process of reloading exploration hoppers.

Targeting predominantly deep and ultra-deep waters, they have signed numerous agreements aimed at unlocking acreage and discovering the next

Namibia or Guyana.

But while there have been agreements for acreage that were ofered as part of traditional licensing rounds – such as the award to TotalEnergies of PPLs 2000 and 2001 in Nigeria in September 2025 – there has been an increasing trend to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), Agreements in Principle (AiP) or

Reconnaissance Licences (RL) for exploration acreage.

By David Thomson and Jamie McGreevy, Welligence Energy Analytics 20 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM